Stick it out

Hebrews 10:32-39 (I like the Message version)

What word of instruction do I hear?
Stick it out. Do not abandon your faith.

It is so easy to give up hope. We go through hard times, lose loved ones, suffer rejection. We struggle with our addictions or the addictions of our friends/family. We lose a job. Fail a test. Fall behind on our bills. We try to do the right thing and get kicked in the face for all our trouble. Life can really get us down.

I've just started to read Jonathan Kellerman's new psychological thriller, "Compulsion." And early on he compares a man's cry of sorrow to the sound of animals at the slaughterhouse. Kellerman describes the sound as the end of hope.

Everything in me rebelled at the statement. I don't know how anyone can live without hope. Life is hard, and sometimes it seems like we are surrounded by sin and death and violence and poverty and injustice and cruelty. But I am pinning all my hopes on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. I believe in God's power to create and to re-create. At the heart of the Christian faith is the belief that God is at work in the world to bring about new life. No matter how hopeless our situation might seem, God will make things right. It may take some time for us to be able to see what God has done or is doing. But if we can stick things out, hold on to our faith, refuse to give up or to give in, we will see all the glorious things that God has done.

For what would I like to give thanks?
For friends and family who wouldn't let me give up hope.

How have I missed the mark?
I let things bother me. I get down and discouraged.

How is God present in this text?
God is on the way. God is coming to our rescue. God has been working things out for us even before we knew there was a God or a problem or a reason to be concerned. God wants to save us from all our enemies. God wants us to live happy, joyous, and free. And we can when we trust in God all the way.

Thank you, Lord, for saving my soul.
Thank you, Lord, for making me whole.
Thank you, Lord, for giving to me
Thy great salvation so rich and free.
(words and music by Mr. and Mrs. Seth Sykes)

Cut to the heart

Acts 2:37-42

What word of instruction do I hear?
What is it that cut the crowd to the heart? I had to look back to earlier verses to see. It was the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended upon a crowd of people who had gathered together in one place. People from every nation were filled with the Spirit and began to speak in other languages about the power of God. Now, some people in the city heard the talk and wondered what it all meant. Others made fun and said, "Oh, they're just drunk."

So Peter stood up and explained. "God sent Jesus to save you from the evil powers of the world, and you handed him over to be killed. But God raised Jesus from the dead. Death does not have the power to hold Jesus prisoner. We are witnesses. We know it's true. We saw Jesus after God raised him from the dead. You can know this for sure: God made Jesus both Lord and Messiah. And everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

What Peter said was true. He told the truth about what the crowd had done. And he told the truth about what God had done. And the truth cut people to the heart.

For what would I like to give thanks?
For friends and family and pastors and teachers who care enough to tell me the truth. Lovingly. With the hope of redemption and transformation.

How have I missed the mark?
When, I wonder, was the last time that the word of God cut me to the heart...? How open am I to the truth?

How is God present in this text?
Through the Holy Spirit, which gives ordinary people the wisdom and ability and courage to speak the truth. God is also presented here as the Lord who calls us to him. God wants us to come near. God wants us to be saved.

Thank you, O Lord, for reaching out to rescue me. Not just once, but all the time. Reaching out, calling me to come closer. Thank you for making room for me. And for paving the way for me. Thank you for not giving up on me.

Why aren't God's arms reaching?

Acts 6:1-7 (Try the Inclusive Language version.)

What word of instruction do I hear? Delegate, delegate, delegate. One person cannot do it all, so, when one tries to do it all, important needs go unmet, people get overlooked, and hard feelings develop. And that is so unnecessary! Because there are so many good people in the church and the world who are willing and able and trained to serve. They simply need to be called upon, authorized and mobilized. When that happens, everyone's needs are met, more and more people hear the good news of God's amazing love, and lots more people begin to follow the example of Jesus.

For what would I like to give thanks? I am so grateful to the Conference Youth Council of the Memphis Conference of the United Methodist Church, who took on the superhuman task of distributing a tractor trailer load of sweet potatoes to feeding stations in West Tennessee last week. I am also reminded of the way that the members of Zion United Methodist Church in Brownsville, TN, take turns feeding an elderly couple in their community. Tears come to my eyes as I remember all the many acts of justice, hospitality, and love that I have witnessed. People can do amazing things when they work together as a team!

How am I missing the mark? I am wondering about all the people I have neglected in my ministry. Whom have I overlooked? When have I played favorites and been guilty of discrimination? Whom might I have allowed to continue to suffer simply because I refused to delegate responsibility? Oh Lord, grant me insight and awareness so that I might see the wrong that I have done and continue to do. Forgive me for all of my many failures. Help me to learn from the mistakes of the past and to be a more faithful follower of Jesus Christ.

What makes me angry? Even in a scripture text that is SUPPOSED to be teaching us not to discriminate, women are being discriminated against. (Note, however, that those who were called were appointed to the task of caring for the poor, feeding the widows, taking care of those who were weak and defenseless.)

How is God present in this text? Through God's people! Makes me think of that song by Casting Crowns, "If we are the body, why aren't his arms reaching?"

Most Loving God, I am once again overwhelmed by the great, great love that You, in Your infinite kindness, have shown to me through family, friends, churches, teachers, students and strangers. Use me, O Lord, to share that love with others.

Mending the nets

Matthew 4:18-22

What word of instruction do I hear? One phrase in particular jumped out at me this morning: mending their nets. It's not a glorious task. Not an exciting one. Probably not the one most preferred by fishermen. I mean, it's a lot more exciting to haul in a big one (or a whole NET full of big ones) than it is to simply mend nets. Mending nets is tedious and dull and hard on the fingers. But it is also essential. If you've got a hole in your net, there's not much of a chance that you're gonna haul in anything!

Every job has its tedious tasks. Dusting furniture, changing the oil, filing receipts, sorting the mail.... Such tasks aren't much fun, but they have to be done if you want to succeed at your primary goal.

For what would I like to give thanks? Simon had Andrew. James had John. Zebedee had two sons. I have Cliff. And Jimmy. And Rebecca. And Phyllis. And Stephen and Caitlyn and Ashley. And interns. And alumni. And pastors. And friends. And family. And a whole community of saints who help with the work. They help carry they load. And I could not make it without them.

How am I missing the mark? I am sometimes (perhaps even often) slow to respond when Jesus calls. I see the need. I hear the call. I know what needs to be done. But I drag my feet. I over-think the situation. I look too far ahead. Forgive me, Lord.

How is God present in this text? God is the one who calls. And God is the one who leads. My job is to follow.

Thank you, God, for taking the lead. And for showing me the way.

Whatever It Takes

There wasn't a dry eye in the room. The Rev. Adam Hamilton, pastor of Church of the Resurrection, had spent the day teaching a group of Memphis Conference pastors and church leaders about evangelism. His church, he said, will do whatever it takes to reach people for Christ.

He meant that in a good way. Not in a will-compromise-our-beliefs-just-to-add-you-to-our-membership-list kind of way. But in a I’ve-lost-a-precious-coin-and-must-find-it-no-matter-what-it-takes kind of way. (Luke 15:8-10)

Then to remind us why we as Christians must be willing to do whatever it takes to seek and save the lost (you know, kind of like Jesus did), Hamilton told a story about a precious child -- his daughter -- who hangs with a tattooed crowd. She has reached the age of independence, rebellion, and spiritual soul-seeking.

Now, Hamilton claims God’s promise: Train children in The Right Way, and, when old, they will not stray (Prov. 22:6). So he believes that this child of his will eventually return to The Way of Christ. But this is his concern: If one such child were to show up at YOUR church -- spiked hair, tattoos, piercings, and all – would you do whatever it takes to reach that child for Christ?

I want to say yes. I want to believe that we at the Interfaith Student Center are doing all we can to seek and save the lost at UT Martin. I want to believe that we are reaching out in love to all God’s children. Because I want everyone to know just how much God loves them. (Check out John 3:16.)

But I’m not sure that we are. I’m not SURE that we are doing ALL we can.

Today, as I was reading a friend’s blog, I was reminded of the words of John Wesley: "Do all the good you can, for all the people you can, at all the times you can, in all the ways you can, as long as ever you can.”

That’s why I’m starting this blog. Right here. Right now. Today. Not someday, when I’ve made the whole thing look cool and professional and worked out all the kinks. But now. Because right now, I can. And right now, there are people who are lost. And some just might be searching the net looking for The Way. And this is one more way that Interfaith might be able to reach them.

In the future, I’ll be doing my journaling here. I’ll share with you a passage of scripture. Use a series of questions to meditate upon the word. And share with you some of my musings. I hope you’ll share yours as well.